Dear Yigal,
YL: "All it DOES prove is that the author of whatever source Num.
6:24-26 was
taken from knew of a blessing-formula and used it as part of his
composition."
Bryant: Source Criticism is being used in the statement above. The text
clearly states that it came from the LORD (vss 22-23) and that Moses was
to tell
Aaron and his sons what blessing was to be pronounced upon the people of
Israel.
That is the source: God to Moses to Aaron and his priestly sons to the
people of
Israel. Unless the text indicates that the priestly blessing came from
somewhere
else, then to postulate/speculate without any evidence to the contrary is
letting one's presuppositions overrule the evidence.
Rev. Bryant J. Williams III
----- Original Message ----- From: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
To: "b-hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 11:45 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] "the Silver Scrolls"
Just so that everyone here understands what Lloyd and Harold are talking--
about: while excavating a tomb in Jerusalem in 1979, Barkay found two
tiny
silver amulets, which, when unrolled, contained two slightly different
versions of the "Priestly Benediction" of Num. 6:24-26. The tomb, and the
amulets, are dated to about 600 BCE, just prior to the destruction of the
First Temple, and indeed, this is the first time that something similar
to a
biblical quotation has been found in a First Temple Period inscription. I
write "something similar to a biblical quotation" because there are
actually
severl differences between the exact text of Num. 6:24-26 and the
versions
found on the two amulets, but they are similar enough.
Does this spell "the death of minimalism", or "the triumph of
maximalism"?
Well, that depends on how you define "minimalism" and "maximalism". If a
"minimalist" is someone who believes that the entire Hebrew Bible was
composed out of nothing in the Second Temple Period, well, this find
would
seem to disprove that claim. But I know of NO "minimalist" who actually
would go that far. On the other hand, if a "Maximalist" is someone who
beleives that the Bible is entirely inerrant, well, this does NOT go
anywhere near proving that either.
What DOES this find prove? It proves that a forumla very similar to Num.
6:24-26 was used as a blessing in late Iron Age Jerusalem. It does NOT
prove
that the entire text of the Torah was already known. It does NOT prove
that
Num. 6:24-26 was recited by priests in the Temple. It does not even prove
the existance of Solomon's Temple. All it DOES prove is that the author
of
whatever source Num. 6:24-26 was taken from knew of a blessing-formula
and
used it as part of his composition.
"Minimalism" and "maximalism" are relative terms, usually used by people
when describing someone else. Such titles do little to further scholarly
debate.
Yigal Levin
----- Original Message ----- From: "Harold Holmyard" <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>
> HH: Here is an article on the silver scroll:
>
> http://www.crystalinks.com/scrollsilver.html
>
> HH: I will try to see the program you mentioned.
>
> Yours,
> Harold Holmyard
>
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